Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd: The Three Kings of Comedy

Buster Keaton

It has long been a debate of who is the greater silent film comedian; Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd? Each was unique in his approach to filmmaking and all deserve to be remembered and appreciated for what they did.

Charlie Chaplin is the most well remembered and most revered. The image of the Tramp is possibly the most recognizable Hollywood character of all time. He created laughter with mere movements and body language. Chaplin created a character who on sight, is recognized as having no prospects. His only possessions are his clothes and a cane. Although he was often down, the Tramp could never be counted out. He always maintained a positive outlook on life.

He took audiences along for the emotional ride of falling in love and having his heart broken.   His films made you feel both happy and sad. You smile at his antics and are heart warmed by his capacity for love. The Tramp was penniless but full of hope and compassion. That combination was the secret to Chaplin's greatness.

Whereas Chaplin presented a personal and judgmental world, Buster Keaton showed us the world from a grown child's perspective. He played with adult toys for a living. Some of his best films showed him dealing with buildings, boats, balloons and his personal favorite, trains. The world was his playground. He invented special effects and used the camera to create images never before seen in the movies of his day.

His stone face persona kept his movies from becoming personal. He rarely smiled. This kept the focus on the stunts, keeping them a surprise for when they would show up. Chaplin earned your laugh by acting silly, but Keaton deserved it by suddenly falling, jumping, dodging or missing something you did not see coming.

Harold Lloyd gets the least credit of the three for being artistic. He did silly and he did stunts but he had his own charm. His glasses wearing every guy is the most accessible of the three characters. Harold was just a guy trying to get through life. He fell in love and tried to do the the right thing. He was the first nerd, often picked on and considered just out of the "in" crowd. You can relate to him in ways you could never relate to the Tramp or the Stone Face.

Audiences felt the same way and rewarded him well. In the 1920s, his films generally did better business than both Chaplin and Keaton. He also was once one of the top ten wealthiest men in Hollywood. Whereas Keaton and Chaplin had several wives, Lloyd had only one. He married in 1923 and remained married until her death in 1969.

Harold Lloyd

After sound films became vogue, each comedian's career took its own unique path. Chaplin went on to make several classic films, although they became fewer and further between. He remained in charge of his career, writing and directing his own films.

Keaton left his own company and worked for MGM. His star fell, but he stayed active in the business by playing small roles right up until his death in 1966. This included a small role in Chaplin's 1952 Limelight. It was the only time any two of the three, appeared on screen together.

Harold Lloyd made a half dozen talky films but retired to his 44 room mansion on his estate he named Green Acres with his wife and children. He pursued many hobbies, including photography in which he even photographed a starlet named Marilyn Monroe.

Patrick, Scott and I have expressed to each other who we like the best of these three, but all can certainly be enjoyed for what they did. Each was unique and set standards in comedy filmmaking that still resonates today. It really does not matter which one any of us think is the greatest, because none of them are any better than the next, they were all geniuses at what they did. Of all the silent films still around, theirs are the ones still being discovered and enjoyed the most by modern audiences.